Chickpea Noodle Casserole

A Plant Based Twist on Tuna Noodle Casserole

What we have here is a classic comfort-filled casserole. The normal tuna noodle casserole we all eat from Maine to Miami, sea to shining sea, loses the tuna in our version, replacing the bland tuna with savory chickpeas. This recipe is a sure-fire way to make sure that you get the delicious flavors that everyone expects from this hearty casserole.

Mirepoix Makes a Great Casserole

We started with an take on “mirepoix”, which is traditionally made with onion, carrot and celery. We left out the celery simply because you don’t see celery in a traditional noodle casserole. By gently cooking the onion, carrot and garlic before adding the chickpeas, green peas and mushroom soup to create the sauce, you get a balanced combination of flavors that will have you thinking you are back at grandma’s house.

Preparing the mushroom soup is as easy as sauteeing the mushrooms with more onion and garlic, seasoning with salt & pepper as you see fit, adding vegetable broth and almond or soy milk and whisking in some flour to create the creamy consistency this casserole requires from its sauce.

Once the veggies are soft and the flavors starting to combine, you throw the sauce and veggies in a casserole dish with pre-cooked noodles and let bake for almost an hour until the sauce is absorbed, the top is golden brown and the edges are nice & crispy. We like to use medium shell noodles because they trap the sauce and veggies inside so every spoonful has a little bit of everything.

Topping the Casserole is Essential

You can top this casserole with breadcrumbs and vegan parm before baking if you want, but we prefer to just sprinkle some vegan parm on right before serving to get that extra umami effect. Your guests will never know that this most excellent casserole is totally vegan.

Chickpea and Mushroom Casserole

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Recipe by Ian Quillan Course: Recipes

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

45

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Warm, comforting and filling – this chickpea shroom casserole tastes like home. If you’re looking for a savory dish with great protein and better ingredients look no further.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons 2 olive oil

• 2 2 white onions, diced

• 2 2 carrots, diced

• 6 cloves 6 garlic

• 3/4 lb 3/4 white mushrooms, chopped

• 3 Cups 3 vegetable stock

• 1 Cup 1 almond milk (or other plant based milk)

• 8 oz 8 peas (frozen or canned)

• 1 can 1 garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

• 2 Cups 2 pasta (pre-cooked and drained)

• dash dash black pepper

• dash dash salt

• 1 slice 1 lemon

Directions

• Heat olive oil in pan over medium-high
• Saute diced onion, carrots and celery in pan, season with salt and pepper. Saute until vegetables are softened (approx. 7 minutes)
• Add sliced mushrooms to pan, cover and cook until most the moisture has left the mushrooms (approx. 10-12 minutes)
• Add peas, cook until all ingredients are warm and combined
• To make cream of cashew soup, combine almond milk, cashews, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, ground mustard, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper in food processor and blend until smooth.
• While all vegetables are cooking, boil salted water. Add noodles and cook according to instructions. Drain noodles and place back in pan, cover to keep warm.
• When all ingredients are ready, place in 9 x 13 baking dish and bake covered with aluminum foil for thirty minutes. Uncover and bake an additional fifteen minutes until browned. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

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